Description of the contract
Denbighshire County Council wishes to appoint an artist blacksmith or designer working with metal to design and create a series of beautifully crafted metalwork fixtures for Broomhill Lane as part of the Denbigh Town – Castle Link scheme. Denbigh Town - Castle link scheme is part of Cadw’s £19 million Heritage Tourism Project which is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Welsh Government.
Background
Tourism is important to the region, and the aim of this public art project is to make local history alive and relevant, to ensure that visitors and local communities have positive experiences. The overall aim of the Denbigh Town – Castle Link scheme is to increase the number of visitors as well as the length and value of visits and to create a stronger link between the Castle and the town itself.
The challenges to overcome are:
Limited of use of the Broomhill Lane route between the castle and the town centre, despite being only a few minutes walk.
Broomhill Lane is widely seen as a dingy, poorly lit and consequently intimidating pathway that thereby discourages, rather than entices, use by visitors and residents.
The disjointedness between the castle, walls and town centre, for example, the castle is not visible from this part of the town centre.
The objectives are:
To achieve greater awareness and accessibility for visitors to Denbigh Castle and Walls from the town and vice versa.
To create an appealing route for visitors along Broomhill Lane which will encourage more visitors from the town up to the castle and town walls and vice versa.
Historical background
Denbigh (“Dinbych” in Welsh, meaning small fortress) is one of the most historic towns in North Wales. The town is first mentioned in records in the years following the Norman Conquest when it became a border town guarding the approach to the Hiraethog Hills and Snowdonia. Denbigh was also probably the location of a fortified settlement during the Roman occupation and in the twelfth century, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the brother of Llewelyn, the last Prince of Wales, had his headquarters here. Edward I created the Lordship of Denbigh in 1282 which was granted to Henry de Lacywho authorised the building of Denbigh Castle which was built over the stronghold of Dafydd ap Gruffydd.
The building of the 'new' Denbigh from 1282 onwards (which removed all traces of the Welsh fortifications) created not only a castle but a new English borough protected by town walls. The building in two phases, was interrupted by a rising in 1294 during which the castle was held for a time by the Welsh. The latter work is easily recognisable by the different coloured stone, thicker curtain walls and angular towers resembling those at Caernarfon. The castle's finest feature is its triple-towered Great Gatehouse bearing the unmistakable stamp of Master James of St George, the architect responsible for all of Edward I's major North Wales castles.
From the late thirteenth century, there were already two settlements here, one within the walls and one outside them. The town within the walls gradually diminished, whilst the town outside them prospered and grew. Denbigh contains some remarkable early buildings, both town houses and shops, and its continued prosperity as a regional market town has resulted in a legacy of fine buildings from many periods. This long history of building lends considerable variety to the townscape with an interesting mix of building types and materials.
More detailed information about Denbigh (Denbigh: Understanding Urban Character) can be downloaded at:
http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/historicenvironment/regenerationandsustainability/understandingcharacter/denbigh/?lang=en
Thematic approach
A previously prepared feasibility study suggested a theme around the derivation of the name Broomhill. Common broom is known to grow on nearby hills in Denbighshire and was probably prevalent on castle hill itself before it was substantially built on. It's not known with certainty when the street was named, but it was known as Broomhill Lane in the mid eighteenth century, and the street is marked on a map of the town dating from 1610.
Dyer's broom provides a useful yellow dye and was grown commercially for this purpose in parts of Britain into the early 19th century. Woollen cloth, mordanted with alum, was dyed yellow then dipped into a vat of blue dye to produce the once-famous "Kendal Green".
A character called Blodeuwedd in the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi, was a woman created by Math and Gwydion from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and oak.
These references as well as the organic form of the flower and plant, can be interpreted through the art commissions within the lane.
Another important motif is the key. Today, in order to walk along the town wall (almost two-thirds of a mile long) one needs to collect a key from the Library. The eastern section of the wall, defended by the Countess Tower and Goblin Tower, is particularly fine, and offers spectacular views over the surrounding landscape as well as a closer look at the beautiful private gardens abutting the wall.
The Denbigh Tourism Community has recently commissioned new branding for the town which has selected the key motif to represent the town. The key is a metaphor for many of the competitive attributes of Denbigh – it signifies a ‘best kept secret’, a hidden gem; the gesture of handing a visitor the keys to your town conveys the hospitality and welcome that visitors will experience.
The artwork should also reflect the present day as the lane now serves a live town centre; a contemporary take on these themes rather than historical pastiche.
The Site
Broomhill Lane is a steep, narrow, pedestrian only alleyway leading directly from High Street towards the castle. However, from the High Street there is no view of the castle, and even at the top of Broomhill Lane, there is still no view of the castle. There is a black painted finger post at the entrance to the lane indicating the way to the castle but the sign is lost against the black background of the pub's sign. The buildings on either side of the lane are three stories high (at the bottom half of the lane) making it dark even in the daytime, and the existing street lighting is not adequate to create a well lit path at night.
The Project
There are a number of art commissions for the Lane and there are three parts to this particular commission.
1. Window grilles. Along the right side of the lane (as you go up) there are windows overlooking the lane which are covered with metal grilles. These plain utilitarian grilles give the impression that the lane is unsafe. We would like to replace them with beautifully crafted grilles, taking the theme of the broom as design inspiration. By introducing these tactile elements to the lane, we aim to create the impression that the lane is appreciated and well-cared for and therefore a pleasant and safe route to the Castle.
2. Light fittings. There are four wall-mounted street lights along the lane. These are of a modern design but seem to cast a diffused light rather than strong directional light down to the pedestrian level of the lane. We would like the selected artist to design and create bespoke light fixtures which will be beautiful sculptural objects in themselves during the day, but will also cast stronger pools of warm light at night. The artist and project manager will liaise with the Council Lighting engineer to select appropriate lights, which will also need to be included within this budget.
3. Finger post. The black finger post at the bottom of the lane, on the pavement of High Street does not draw enough attention to itself or the fact that the lane is an important route. We would like the artist to create a new bespoke finger post, incorporating the town's motif of the key, and painted in brighter colours.
The Artist
We envisage appointing an artist blacksmith for this commission, however, we are also open to applications from artists/designers who have worked closely with blacksmiths in the past and have examples of metalwork in their portfolio.
As there are a number of commissions taking place in a small space, we would like there to be some interaction between those commissioned. This is so that the artworks sit comfortable alongside each other and create an intriguing and attractive thoroughfare.
Other Projects Taking Place on Broomhill Lane
A two part sculptural intervention at the top of the lane and on a small pair of corbels part way up the lane.
A commissioned and stencilled wall based and bilingual text work starting at the foot of the lane.
A commission to create 7 bespoke utility covers ( manhole covers ) to replace existing standard covers.
The criteria for short-listing will be based on:
Creativity shown in past projects 55%
Evidence from previous work that the artist can deliver designs
within a compressed timescale 10%
Evidence from previous work that the artist has produced work
to a similar scale as required here 10%
Evidence of the quality of workmanship achieve in previous
projects either through the artist making the work themselves
or through collaborating with fabricators 25%
A short-list will be drawn up and invited to interview on the 19th or 20th of March. The project should be completed by July/August 2014.
Please send a CD with a powerpoint or pdf showing between 8 and 12 previous projects and project list, as well as a CV and a brief letter explaining your interest in the project. Email applications will also be accepted but please keep attachments under 12MB or use a data transfer service such as wetransfer.com.
Three or four artists will be short-listed and invited to interview. The Selection Panel will include the Economic & Business Development Officer, local Councillors, and a representative from Celfwaith. Reasonable travel expenses will be re-imbursed such as train fare and mileage but no subsistence or overnight accommodation.
Send applications to:
Celfwaith, 7 Pontfaen, Cardiff, CF23 7DU
or mererid@celfwaith.co.uk
|